Cengage Unlimited Gives Students Total Access to More Than 20,000 Digital Learning Products; Transforming How They Buy and Use Course Materials

BOSTON, December 5, 2017 — In a bold move designed to lower student costs and improve access to learning, Cengage, an education and technology company, today announced Cengage Unlimited. This first-of-its-kind subscription gives students access to all the company’s digital higher education materials—more than 20,000 products across 70 disciplines and more than 675 courses—for $119.99 a semester, no matter how many Cengage materials they use.

“High costs are limiting too many students from being able to access and succeed in their learning,” said Michael Hansen, CEO, Cengage. “Students are either spending hundreds of dollars a year on materials, or else put off buying them altogether because they can’t afford them. And, for many students who do find a way, it is because they are taking on student loan debt that will impact them for years.

“With Cengage Unlimited, students finally have an alternative to the traditional and costly approach of paying for each course’s materials individually. We are taking unprecedented action to break down cost barriers and end the cycle of students having to choose between course materials they can afford and the results they want,” Hansen continued.

Beginning in August 2018, students at U.S. higher education institutions can subscribe to Cengage Unlimited at Cengage.com. After paying a one-time subscription fee, students will access a dashboard offering unlimited access to the company’s comprehensive library of content that includes renowned authors such as Gregory Mankiw and the late James Stewart. A subscription includes the award-winning digital learning platforms MindTap and WebAssign; students using these platforms also will have the option of free print rentals. When their subscription ends, students will retain reference access to their key course materials for the first year for free. Cengage plans to work with its partners at on-campus and off-campus bookstores, and online retailers, to make subscriptions available to students.

“Cengage Unlimited underscores how students are the primary focus of everything we do at Cengage. Knowing that cost is among the highest hurdles facing students, we embarked on a very deliberate path to find a solution. A subscription to Cengage Unlimited gives students access to all of our best-in-class authors and learning products at significantly lower cost than they might pay otherwise,” said Fernando Bleichmar, EVP and Chief Product Officer, Cengage. “Today’s announcement shows how Cengage can quickly scale and adapt to customers’ needs, and how we are best-positioned to be the catalyst for change in our industry.”

Underscoring the company’s transition from traditional print publisher to a digital company, Cengage recently announced its strategic goal to be a 90 percent digital company by 2019. The company has pioneered multiple initiatives to provide students more value in their learning, including Cengage Inclusive Access, which can save students up to 55 percent and ensures they have access to their course materials on the first day of class; and OpenNow, a suite of low-cost, technology-enhanced OER products for general education courses.

Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. As the largest US-based provider of teaching and learning materials for higher ed, we offer valuable options at affordable price points. Our industry-leading initiatives include Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. We embrace innovation to create learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. Headquartered in Boston, Cengage also serves K-12, library and workforce training markets around the world. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.